Hamzat Lawal Steps Aside, Announces New Leadership
Maryam Aminu
Founder of Connected Development (CODE), Hamzat Lawal, today Monday 1st September, 2025 marked 13 years of driving citizen-led accountability across Africa, announcing new leadership as he embarks on postgraduate studies in the United Kingdom.
Lawal, who came to prominence in 2012 with the Save Bagega campaign that forced government action on a lead poisoning crisis in Zamfara State, said CODE has grown from a small grassroots movement into Africa’s leading accountability organisation.
Through its flagship initiative, Follow The Money (FTM), the organisation has worked in more than 3,000 communities across Nigeria and 12 African countries, tracking over ₦400 billion in public funds to ensure delivery of schools, hospitals, water projects and other infrastructure.
CODE has also played a central role in major campaigns, including Not Too Young To Run and the COVID-19 Transparency and Accountability Project (CTAP). Its work in the Niger Delta and on illicit financial flows has further strengthened citizen oversight and global anti-corruption efforts.
Lawal announced the appointment of an Acting Chief Executive Officer for CODE and a Secretary General for Follow The Money International, stressing that the movement is “bigger than any one individual.”
He has been awarded a Chevening Scholarship to study Governance, Development, and Public Policy at the University of Sussex, UK, and pledged to return with “fresh insights” to advance CODE’s mission.
